Paula Blanchard: Voting for Hope on Question 3

Friday

Oct 31, 2008 at 12:01 AMOct 31, 2008 at 3:16 AM

When the daily news gets to be too much for me, I go for a walk in the woods with our dog. She is an adopted racing greyhound, one of those discarded by the track when she stopped winning money. She is incredibly beautiful, as delicate and graceful as a fawn and just about as gentle.

Paula Blanchard

It is difficult to overstate the importance of the coming election - for the sake of the country, the world, and the planet. It is as significant as any I can remember, and I have lived through World War II, the Cold War, the Korean War, Watergate, Vietnam, and 9/11.

When the daily news gets to be too much for me, I go for a walk in the woods with our dog. Hope is an adopted racing greyhound, one of those discarded by the track when she stopped winning money. She is incredibly beautiful, as delicate and graceful as a fawn and just about as gentle.

The walk is the highlight of her day. She pokes her nose into every other bush, log, and leaf pile looking for messages only a dog can decipher. I wait while she does her research. It lifts my spirits to give her the natural life of a dog, a life she never experienced until she was four years old.

Which brings me back to the election, and to one particular issue that sends me on my walks in the woods. Massachusetts is one of the few states that allow the ballot initiative process, and this year 3,000 volunteers collected 150,000 signatures to place "Question 3" on the ballot. If passed, it will phase out greyhound racing by 2010. Question 3 is sponsored by The Committee to Protect Dogs, an alliance including the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, The Humane Society of the United States, and the greyhound protection group GREY2K USA.

Dog racing is an anachronism left over from the 1930s. Humane standards have evolved since then, especially in recent years, as cases like the Michael Vick dog-fighting scandal have aroused public outrage.

But greyhound racing continues in 11 states, backed by politically powerful gambling interests and hidden from public view by an entrenched culture of secrecy and misinformation. For more than 70 years, Massachusetts law has allowed the racing industry to treat dogs as business commodities.

At each racetrack, about 1,000 greyhounds are kept in warehouse conditions, confined in stacked tiers of small cages, each barely large enough for the dog to turn around or lie down. The standard cage size, set by the Massachusetts Racing Commission but usual throughout the industry, is 32 inches wide, 42 inches deep and 34 inches high. A large greyhound, standing 30 inches or more at the shoulder, cannot fully raise his head when he stands.

Four times a day the dogs are turned out, in small, bare yards where they can walk around and relieve themselves. Occasionally they are given a practice run. Each dog races a few times a month. Otherwise it's life in the cage, until they get too old to race or no longer earn their keep, whichever comes first.

The risk of injury is high. Since 2001, Massachusetts law has required the tracks to report each injury, its nature, and estimated recovery time. The reports reveal that from 2002 to 2008 Massachusetts greyhounds suffered over 800 injuries, 80 percent of them broken legs. Other injuries include broken neck, crushed skull, seizure, paralysis, and cardiac arrest.

For the first time, voters have access to documented evidence of the emotional and physical suffering inflicted on racing greyhounds. It is cruelty on an industrial scale.

The thought of how much depends on this election can encourage a sense of hopelessness. There are huge injustices and cruelties to be redressed around the world. Greyhound racing does not rank among the larger evils, but it is an evil nevertheless, it causes real suffering, it is here in our state and we can do something about it. The fact that 3,000 ordinary citizens were able to bring Question 3 to the ballot reminds me that democracy is not too large for me to handle. It keeps me going when I come home from my walk in the woods to another barrage of bad news.

Our greyhound's name is Hope. We didn't give her that name; she came with it. In my more fanciful moments, I almost take that for a sign. As it is, I will vote Yes on Question 3. I will vote for Hope.

Paula Blanchard of Lexington is co-chairperson of the Committee to Protect Dogs.

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